Motivations
by thosedarndursleys
Summary: The end of the school year is always difficult, but sometimes frustrations run deeper than just classes.
Hey y'all! This story was written for Round 2 of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition. I, as the new **permanent** Beater 2, had to write about someone's hatred for the subject Ancient Runes. My two optional prompts were:

#3 (word): procrastinate

#5 (quote): "I want to see and understand the world outside." –Eren Jaeger, _Attack on Titan_

For judging purposes, the final word count of this story is 1,002.

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Motivations

Textbooks and sheets of notes were scattered around the floor of an empty classroom. The sun that had only just stopped glaring brilliantly through the ornate, rounded windows was beginning to soften and fall slowly from view. A small girl sat in the midst of all the drifting pages, her forehead creased in concentration; she had been resting her head on her hand for so long that her knuckles had left marks on her cheek. A pocket planner was open to the month of May with the first week crossed out, and as the girl gazed at her open text book, her fingers absently bent the corner of the planner's cover back and forth, softening it into a crease.

A knock on the door shook the girl from her study, and her eyes worked to focus on the figure across the room as he approached.

"Hey, Gin," he said softly. "How's it coming along?"

Ginny ran a hand over her eyes before clearing a space beside her on the floor. Neville dropped down beside her and took in the jumble of material before looking back to her.

"I have no idea how I'm going to get through this exam, Neville," she sighed. "I've spent all weekend studying this rubbish! I don't even understand why we need to learn it anyway."

Neville pursed his lips and leaned closer to nudge Ginny's shoulder with his own.

"You'll be fine, Gin. Your brother uses Runes all the time, right? Bill? Maybe he can be of some help."

"He's in the middle of some huge project right now. I've written to him, but he wasn't available. Besides, I think he knew I've been procrastinating." She looked a little embarrassed and took a moment to rub the bridge of her nose before lying back on the oak floor. She could hear parchment rustling beneath her but couldn't be bothered to move it.

"What about Hermione?"

"She's busy with her own exams, _and_ she's been helping Harry prepare for the final task. There's no way I can take her from that for something so stupid."

Silence fell after that, and Neville turned in order to take a better look at Ginny. He chewed his lip for a moment, and Ginny knew he was studying her face. She could feel his eyes on her.

"What is it, Neville?" It came out harsher than she would have liked, but when Ginny opened her eyes, Neville didn't seem to have noticed.

"What about Percy?"

Ginny took a deep breath and sat up. Her fingers caught in the tangles of her hair as she pushed it out of her face.

"Oh, you mean the single human being that the Department of International Magical Cooperation couldn't possibly function without? He's been ignoring me, I guess he's too busy being his own boss. He wrote a few weeks ago and basically said that he just gets _so much_ post that he can't be bothered with personal matters at the moment."

She hoped the bitterness didn't show in her voice, but if Neville's expression was any indication, it definitely did.

"I only took it because of him, you know. He said he _loved_ Ancient Runes. He said it was _fascinating_ and _invaluable_ ," Ginny scoffed. "He promised he'd help me. I figured it'd be a good way for us to keep in touch after he left school."

Ginny took a minute to collect herself before getting to her feet. She held out a hand to Neville, who took it and stood as well.

"I'm sick of being inside, studying some useless language that's never going to help me in life. I want to do something _important_ , something that will actually help people or contribute to the world." Ginny took a deep breath and met Neville's eyes. "I want to be _useful_ , Nev."

Neville, who had accidentally trodden on Ginny's day planner, bent down to retrieve it. He flipped to the back cover, catching sight for the words that were scribbled upon it in Ginny's handwriting.

"'I want to see and understand the world outside,'" he read. He rubbed a thumb over the letters before looking up again. "Where did you hear that?"

"It was in some comic book on my dad's shelf over the summer. I'm not sure where he got it. It looked foreign."

"It's a nice quote," Neville muttered.

"Thanks."

Neville set the planner back in its place before moving closer to Ginny. She was in his arms the next moment, her head tucked into his chest, his hand squeezing the back of her neck. Neither of the pair said a word as the sun continued to recede. Ginny couldn't remember the last time she was held like this. Of all of her brothers, Charlie was the only one who was particularly affectionate, and they had been in such a rush the last time she saw him that she hadn't been able to get a proper hug. She relaxed into the embrace before, to her horror, she sniffled and felt a tear fall to her cheek. She backed away and quickly dashed a hand across her eyes.

"I hate Ancient Runes," she said finally, looking up to search Neville's face.

"I don't blame you there." Neville smiled. "Why don't you drop it next term? I've heard Muggle Studies is actually pretty cool, and it'd give you something to write to your dad about."

Ginny let out a small laugh and nodded. "You know, that's not a bad idea. At the moment he only has Harry and Hermione to talk to, and they've been a bit busy of late."

"A bit?"

Ginny let out a real laugh and elbowed Neville, grinning. Then they knelt down to gather up the study materials from the floor. When they were safely tucked into Ginny's bag, Neville nodded his head toward the doorway.

"Hannah Abbott showed me how to get into the kitchens last week. There's probably still some dinner left, if you're hungry."

Ginny smiled. "I'd like that."


End file.
